So, let's bring our study of PREPARING FOR ETERNITY...WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS? to a close with this blog as we take a closer examination of Peter's last verses regarding how we are to be living. He says in verse 8, "If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Easy to Read)
And isn't that our purpose on this earth....to be useful to God as we live and produce fruit...as we seek to tell others about Jesus and His sacrifice for us, as we look forward to spending eternity with Him. And all that is ENTIRELY POSSIBLE, if we learn more about who Jesus is, and as we walk with Him in our daily lives, making EVERY effort to be more like Him (godliness) and to show the love of God to those who are living life on their own terms; totally and selfishly without regard for God's great love and sacrifice. I mean, if we can somehow earn our way into God's PERFECT Heaven; then what was the cross for and why did Jesus come to earth just so He could die the most horrible death possible?
Peter goes on to say in verse 9, "But those who don’t grow in these blessings are blind. They cannot see clearly what they have. They have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins. Yes, we will miss the blessings that God has stored up for us both here on earth as well as in Heaven if we fail to worship Him for all He has done for us...both now and in eternity to come.
Imagine, if you will, you are in a upcoming dramatic play...what is your first act of getting ready to perform the play...LEARN YOUR LINES, THEN RUN THEM WITH SOMEONE ELSE; THEN PRACTICE YOUR BLOCKING ON STAGE, THEN THE DRESS REHERSAL..NOW YOU ARE READY FOR OPENING NIGHT.
The same is true for your preparation for Heaven....first you picture WORSHIP and then you PRACTICE WORSHIP as laid out in Psalm 119:164, which reads, "Seven times a day and all day long do I praise You because of Your righteous decrees." (AMPC) Yes, the more we visualize our acts of worship, the more we are prepared to practice our acts of worship and receive the blessings that God has ALREADY PREPARED FOR US....He is just waiting for us to do our part so that He may do His part!!!!
In fact, if you will closely examine the last verses of this Scripture passage in verse 10 & 11, you will find seven blessings that are provided to us as we use the tools we have in our toolbox to do God's work and to worship Him in true honor and praise for all HE HAS DONE AND ALL THAT HE WILL DO TO COME...THEY ARE,
GODLY MATURITY
GROWING PRODUCTIVITY
GREATER CLARITY
GRATEFUL MEMORY
GENUINE STABILITY
GUARANTEED SECURITY
and probably the most important blessing of all....
GLORIOUS ETERNITY!!!!
So, let's crack open our toolbox, knowing we have EVERYTHING WE NEED TO LIVE A SUCCESSFUL AND GLORIOUS LIFE FOR OUR HEAVENLY FATHER....AS WE DO THE GOOD DEEDS SET BEFORE US AND HE RECEIVES THE GLORY, HONOR AND PRAISE HE IS DUE!!!
WORKING FOR JESUS...WAITING ON HEAVEN'S REWARD,
WPQ
